F1 23 hosts free weekend to celebrate Formula 1’s Las Vegas debut

Plus a big discount for those wanting to race on

Marco Wutz | Nov 10, 2023

F1 23 hosts free weekend to celebrate Formula 1’s Las Vegas debut /

Formula 1 is racing in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the very first time from November 17 to 19, 2023, speeding through the heart of the city and past some of its most memorable landmarks. F1 23 celebrates this historical debut by becoming free-to-play from November 16 to 20, 2023, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. In this timeframe, the game will also be discounted by up to 60% on the platforms’ official stores.

Players can carry over the progression from the free trial into the full game, so unlocking the new Las Vegas-themed in-game rewards over the free weekend won’t be for nothing. Double XP will be rewarded to anyone playing during the free weekend in various game modes, allowing for a quick progression rate.

F1 23 Vegas — F1 is going to Vegas for the first time and EA Sports is here to celebrate it :: Codemasters / EA Sports

Among the special in-game activities planned for this period is an all-new hot lap challenge – of course featuring the city track in Las Vegas. In this challenge, players face off against a time set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the brand-new circuit. By logging in every day from November 16 to 18, 2023, players will earn free cosmetic items in the game.

Finally, from November 20 to December 11, 2023, the recently unveiled – and incredibly sexy – special livery from Ferrari for the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be available in the game.

Outside of the game, EA Sports is also hosting some fun celebrations in Vegas’ HyperX Arena with gaming and sports stars colliding. Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen, who is an EA Sports ambassador, AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo, and British boxing champion Anthony Joshua will be featured.

"Las Vegas is an iconic venue which takes in one of the most famous stretches of tarmac in the world," commented Lee Mather, Senior Creative Director at Codemasters. "I’ve loved watching the team build such a wonderful virtual recreation of the vibrance and energy of the Strip. We have been honoured to bring this new circuit to F1 23 for players everywhere to enjoy ahead of the real-world Grand Prix, and we hope everyone has as much fun as Daniel Ricciardo when they take on Sin City in-game this week."

F1 23 interview: senior creative director Lee Mather on curbs, traction, dealing with F1 teams and recreating Las Vegas

Published Nov 10, 2023

MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg